The problem is, there's a ton of misinformation out there that might be steering you off course as you desperately try to reach level 30.

No, your friend's friend didn't catch a Legendary Pokémon. And no, there is no mathematical calculation to determine what those footprints mean in your Nearby menu. Sorry! We wish there was just as much as you do.

Zapdos is a Legendary Pokémon, which are currently not in the game.Imgur / RedditThe game does, however, have a plethora of secrets hiding just beneath the surface. We've gathered the best cheats and hidden features and put them right here! Happy hunting.

1/

Start with Pikachu!

There's a simple trick to getting Pikachu right at the start of the game: disobedience! As my colleague Tim Mulkerin wrote, "You have to initially rebel against Professor Willow and refuse to pick a Pokémon when he asks you to. Instead of picking one of the three Pokémon he offers, keep walking until Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur disappear from the map.

The trio of Pokémon will pop up again on your map when you get far enough away from them, and you have to continue to ignore them four times.

The fifth time they respawn on your map, they'll have Pikachu with them! Pick Pikachu instead of one of the original trio, and voila! He's yours." BOOM!

The most important thing you can do in "Pokémon Go" is level up your Trainer. The higher the level you are, the better Pokémon you'll find. They'll have higher CP and H P, and thus they'll be more capable of going to gyms and winning in battle without you having to power them up.

So, how do you get there quickly? Be recycling your duplicates. Pokémon like Rattata and Pidgey and Weedle — Pokémon that you run into frequently, that cost very few candy to evolve. Evolving Pokémon gives you a fat payout of 500 XP. You see where I'm going with this?

Every time you collect a Pidgey or a Weedle or whatever else, you get a few candy. When you evolve them, you can then transfer them to Professor Willow for a bonus candy, thus enabling further evolution.

Maximize on your Lucky Eggs and Incense to help with Trainer leveling!

The Pokemon Company

Consider this: If you get 500 XP for evolving Pokémon, and Lucky Eggs double your XP for 30 minutes, you'll get 1000 XP for every Pokémon you evolve in that time period.

So maybe save those oft-found Pokémon for a special 30 minutes of evolution frenzy? If you're feeling up to it, perhaps add an Incense use to your Lucky Egg time. For every new Pokémon found that you've never found before, you get 500 XP (which then gets doubled). You can see how this could turn into an XP windfall very quickly.

In general, using Lucky Eggs and Incense together is a pretty solid idea to maximize on the use of both. Here's a bunch more info!

4/

Hit Level 12 or 15 (at least) before you start using Stardust!

This is the highest level Pokémon I had at the time. He got left behind, eventually, in favor of better Pokémon found at higher Trainer levels.
The Pokemon Company

You get Stardust for doing just about everything in "Pokémon Go," but that doesn't mean its an infinite resource. You'll want to save as much Stardust as possible to help raise the power level (both CP and HP) of your top-level Pokémon at some point. Pokémon that you find at low Trainer levels in Pokémon are often left behind as your Trainer level increases, so spending Stardust on them is a waste of time and resources.

5/

Drag the Pokéball and swirl it around to throw a curve ball!

The Pokemon Company

You see that curveball bonus sometimes, right? You must have seen that at least once or twice after scooping a Pokémon. That's no accident, although your initial introduction may have been.

When you're capturing a Pokémon, you can tap the Pokéball at the bottom of the screen, drag it forward, and swirl it around in a circle. It'll start spraying sparks and that's when you should toss it diagonally towards the Pokémon in question. With any luck (and some practice), you'll start nailing curveball bonuses every capture.

Wondering what that yellow/orange/red circle is all about when you're trying to capture Pokémon? It's not just there to psyche you out, but to introduce an element of careful timing.

The closer you get to hitting in the center of that circle, and the smaller that circle is, the more of a throw bonus you will get when — nay, if— you capture the Pokémon. And as we already know, the more XP you get, the higher level your Trainer becomes, thus securing better Pokémon to capture. It's a glorious cycle.

What to do with your eggs: incubate! Constantly! Target longer walks for better Pokemon.

You can find them under the main menu if you click on the Pokémon submenu, then swipe to the left. Tapping on any of them will allow you to select "Incubate," which then starts a counter that's connected to how far you walk while the game is open on your phone (and the screen is on, unfortunately — you have to be actively playing for it to be measured).

When you've walked the distance there, your Pokémon will hatch and much rejoicing will be had.

8/

Go out to places where people are congregating to play, as there will be lures and you'll find amazing Pokémon!

The Pokemon Company

The map above is of the lower east corner of Central Park in Manhattan, where a variety of Pokéstops are all grouped together around Grand Army Plaza. I've been there twice, and there's never been a time that any Pokéstop didn't have a lure on it for longer than a minute or two.

There is a constant barrage of Pokémon showing up, and huge crowds of people are coming together and sharing space while capturing Pokémon. You may not live in NYC — our condolences to you and yours — but you're likely near some form of major congregation point. There are crowds of hundreds in downtown Bellevue, Washington, so this certainly isn't a NYC-exclusive activity.

9/

Go to different regions to catch different types of Pokemon (and play at night)!

The Pokemon Company

Zubats are more likely to show up if you're out catching Pokémon in the evening. Goldeens and Magikarps are more likely to appear near water sources. The typical rules apply here when it comes to Pokémon — certain types are more likely to appear near geographically appropriate areas.

That said, get out of your neighborhood! There are a million Doduos near our office. I've got a freakin' Doduo farm upstate from the non-stop flood of Doduos in Manhattan's Flatiron district. But back at home, near Prospect Park? Jigglypuff for miles. I've got a Wigglytuff now. Jealous?!

Select which Eevee you want to evolve into with this easter egg!

Tech Insider

One Pokémon in "Pokémon Go" can evolve into three different Pokémon, seemingly at random: Eevee. But there's an easter egg buried in the game for the most devoted Pokémon fans. Redditor "smithnigel" figured it out— here's their explanation:

"The Eevee Brothers from the original anime were named Rainer, Pyro, Sparky and they owned a Vaporeon, Flareon and Jolteon respectively. If you nickname your Eevee either Rainer, Pyro or Sparky, your Eevee will evolve into that desired Eeveelution!"

Heads up that this will only work on your first Eevee, reportedly, so choose carefully.

Use this trick to win Gym battles nearly every time!

The Pokemon Company

A simple method of dodge and attack will help you tackle enemies of nearly any level. It's all about looking for the yellow "flash" of your opponent, and immediately dodging their impending attack. As Reddit user "zmedi" points out, at the start of each battle, your opponent will immediately attack. So, ya know, dodge immediately! After dodging (by swiping left or right), quickly hit your opponent (by tapping on your Pokémon, not theirs).